1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to protective coatings. More particularly, the present invention relates to coatings which are applied to a vessel and adhere to and isolate a surface of the vessel to prevent the release of airborne contaminants.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the nuclear industry, coatings, such as strippable coatings, are used to protect surfaces from contamination and to decontaminate surfaces that have acquired loose contamination. In the decontamination application, the strippable coatings are laid over a contaminated surface and allowed to set up or cure to a stable form. In the stable form, the coatings are removed from the surface, carrying away the loose contamination which is now fixed in the coating matrix.
Although these strippable coatings are capable of removing the surface contamination, they are hindered by compositional problems. The strippable coatings often use organic carriers and drying agents which are now listed with the environmental protection agency as being volatile organic compounds (VOC). These organic carriers and drying agents lead to the potential formation of mixed waste when the carrier and the vapors condense. Use of such strippable coatings causes the VOC level for a particular plant to increase.
In addition to using organic carriers and drying agents, many strippable coatings are in themselves resin or other organic based. As a result, such coatings themselves may at some point constitute a mixed waste fraction in that the coating is a hazardous or ignitable material which contains radioactive material trapped in its matrix.
The use of these prior art strippable coatings can create environmental problems of their own in their application and their removal. Consequently, there is a need for a coating to protect surfaces from contamination and to decontaminate surfaces that have acquired loose contamination which neither increases the environmental problems of a plant nor creates disposal problems.